I love movies. I love, love, LOVE movies.
Movies are a lot like music and books for me: they have positive or negative associations with whatever was going on in my life at the time I was first exposed to them, they can evoke certain feelings, they can be a much-needed distraction or source of comfort in times of need, and they can educate me in ways both intellectual and emotional.
I will reach for an oft-viewed movie for the same reasons I’ll reach for a favorite book, or queue up a favorite playlist or musical album. One of my favorite pleasures in life is introducing friends and family to the movies I’ve seen and loved; another is discovering a new favorite among films that were released long ago.
But just as favorite books can go out of print, favorite movies can go out of release and licensing agreements. Suddenly, that movie I Just Have To See Right Now, or Must Share With My Friend Who I Know Will Love It As Much As I Do, can’t be had at any cost.
For example, just a couple weeks back a reference to Skynet came up in a funny Facebook post and, hearing my laughter but not getting the joke at all, my kids asked what “Skynet” is. I told them it was from this movie called The Terminator, and went on to describe the movie a bit, at which point all three of us decided we wanted to see it. As soon as possible. Ideally, right then.
No problem, right? We’ve got Video on Demand (VOD) through our satellite TV provider, we subscribe to a couple of premium movie channels that also offer VOD streaming for their current listings, we’ve got access to other streaming providers like Netflix, Vudu and Crackle. And hey, even if it’s not available as a streaming video, The Terminator was (and is still) a hugely popular movie, if all else fails I should be able to pick up a copy of the DVD at a bargain price the next day because the movie’s so old.
Nope, nope and nope. Not available on Netflix. Not available through our satellite service’s VOD. Not currently among the listings of any of our premium channels. Not in stock at my local Target or Best Buy stores. Finally, I decided to search the Vudu listings, which I’d never done before because I knew you had to pay for those movies and suspected they generally cost more than my satellite provider’s VOD rentals. Vudu had it, but only for purchase, at a price of $13.99. However, Vudu also offered a first-time user account credit of $15, so we went for it. Had it not been for that credit, we wouldn’t have seen the movie until whenever it happened to pop back up in the listings of our premium channels or our usual sources of VOD.
It turns out The Terminator is available as an Amazon Instant Video, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $3.99 to buy. But at the time, I didn’t have a device capable of streaming Amazon Instant Videos to my TV. The idea of the three of us crowding around my Kindle Fire seemed pretty silly, and doing so probably wouldn’t show this very influential film in its best light. I’m sure I spent more than the $2.99 Instant Video rental fee in gasoline while driving to and from two different Target stores and two different Best Buys, and I spent plenty of time searching for the movie in VOD listings and those stores, too. Even though we eventually got to see the movie without paying a rental or purchase fee, it was only through sheer luck that it happened to be available at all, and that a credit was available.
The Terminator is a very well-known blockbuster. Imagine how my little search mission would’ve ended if I’d been looking for an obscure indie film, or a film that may have been a hit when it was released but is largely forgotten today. Case in point: Gremlins. This movie isn’t currently available through any of my premium channels’ VOD, my satellite provider’s VOD, or even as an Amazon Instant Video. It’s not on the rack at my local Targets or Best Buys, either. If I ever want to see this movie again, so far as I can tell I will have to mail-order the DVD.
Gremlins doesn’t happen to be one of my go-to movies, something I know I’ll watch and share many times in years to come, so I don’t plan to buy it. But many of the films I will watch and share over and over again in years to come are in the same boat as Gremlins, in terms of availability.
The movie studios have licensing agreements with all the VOD providers, and also decide which movies to keep in release as streaming videos, DVDs or Blu-rays based on profitability and/or demand. You might think that because Movie A is available through Netflix today, it always will be. Or if Movie B is available as a streaming VOD rental through your satellite provider today, it always will be. But you’d be wrong. Just ask everyone who was halfway through watching back seasons of the Starz! series Spartacus when Netflix’ licensing agreement with Starz! expired, and Starz! opted not to renew. The only way to be sure the movie you want will be available when you want it is to own a copy. Even then, if the copy you own is a physical disc, it’s vulnerable to scratches and environmental damage that can render it useless, and it can be lost, or lent out and then forgotten.
Physical discs also take up physical space, and their production introduces chemical and packaging pollutants to the environment. Digital copies of movies have pretty much all the same advantages as digital copies of books (ebooks): digital copies don’t take up physical space, are greener to produce, are more easily portable (no boxes or crates are needed to take your digital video collection from one place to another), are much more convenient, and are generally cheaper.
Once I’d made the decision to go digital with movies, much as when I decided to go digital with books, all I had left to decide was where to get them. Did I want to go with iTunes, which limits my enjoyment of the movies I buy to Apple devices? Or Amazon, which allows me to watch the movies I’ve purchased on an Amazon device (a Kindle Fire) as well as through numerous, video-streaming and internet -enabled devices? For now, while I wait for a digital format that allows me to view my purchases on any video- and wifi-capable device, from my living room television set to my portable devices, I’m doing a bit of both.
I watched and waited till I was able to buy a Roku box at a deep discount, so I’d be able to watch Amazon Instant Videos on my TV (and watch all the Prime Instant Videos at no charge, since I’m a Prime member). It’s an added bonus that, for the most part, I’ve found Amazon Instant Video rentals cost less than rentals through my other VOD sources. And the Amazon Instant Video catalog is MUCH larger than that of any of my other VOD sources.
Where movies I know will get repeat viewings from me are concerned, if the price of a new-release DVD or Blu-ray combo pack that includes a digital, iTunes copy is only a few dollars more than buying the digital copy alone, I go that route, to maximize my viewing options. If not, I’ll wait till it’s been in release long enough for the price of the Amazon Instant Video to come down, and buy that version instead.
As for my existing DVDs, I keep an eye on the Instant Video sale listings and when one of my favorites comes up for just a few dollars, I buy it, to add more portability to my collection and to ensure that even if my DVD or Blu-ray copy is lost or damaged, I’ll still be able to watch that favorite movie. At least, so long as Amazon remains in existence. And I’m pretty sure Amazon’s life expectancy is a LOT longer than mine!
Once I’ve got a digital copy from a source as reliable as iTunes or Amazon, where my copy is stored in ‘the cloud’ that’s run by the company so I don’t have to worry about accidentally deleting it, or losing it when my current devices must be replaced, I can take the DVDs or Blu-rays and give them to friends or family members, donate them to my local public library or shelter, or sell them to my local video store. I know that video stores aren’t so commonplace as they used to be, but used DVDs and Blu-rays can always be sold on eBay, if no other outlet exists.
It’s a lot like when I made the transition from vinyl to CD, and later, from CD to MP3. Someday, sooner than any of us expect it I think, movies on physical discs will be like music on vinyl: purely a collector’s item.